that is al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton in new york. let's get you caught up on the top stories this hour - freedom for european observers held in ukraine. the crisis there is escalating. demonstrators in washington call on u.s. the do more in relation to the kidnapped ghirls nigeria. world press freedom day. on the trail of a deadly disease that found its way to indiana. and the n.b.a.'s latest move

to oust clippers' owner donald sterling. . hugs and relief in ukraine as seven european observers held by separatists are freed. it comes a day after fighting in the southern city of odessa killed dozens of pro-russia activists, many in a clash. today the city held visuals to commemorate the dead. at this hour ukraine inches closer to civil war. the military is stepping up its offensive. the conflict is spreading to other parts of the country. paul brennan has the latest from the eastern city of konstantinovka. >> reporter: burning cars and dabry were evidence of what looked like a day of fighting between ukranian soldiers and pro-russian separatists.

vehicles and tyres became barricades, set alike to try to keep the government troops at bay. >> there's a lot of victims from both sides, from the civilians and fighters. people who were going to work were insecured jurd. there were a lot of injured and dead. shooting at buildings. >> a stockpile of petrol bombs were at hand. it didn't stop the vaps of vehicles, nor did the angry chants of residents. check points are controlling traffic in and out. >> not all traffic has been halted. after eight days in captivity, a convoy carrying a team of o.s.c. observers made it through. on a road side north of donetsk they embraced freedom with a sense of relief. a carefully choreographed handover bringing an end to the observers much. >> you can't imagine.

it's deep relief. the situation was tough. the last two nights, as we saw the situation developing. every minute is longer. finely, with the cooperation of all the key players, it went perfectly. thank you very much. >> the men looked calm but tired. the tension of their captivity and the nerves as their freedom came closer was obvious to see. this had been detained by the self-proclaimed mayor of slovyansk, vyacheslav panamaryov. the released men said vyacheslav panamaryov kept his promise to protect them from harm. documents that negotiated the released any other outcome was unthinkable. >> taking people working for international organizations as hostages is unacceptable. so it was extremely important to get through this mission.

>> the mission was made more intricate by the ukrainian military offensive ongoing against pro-russian militia around slovyansk and other towns. there has been fierce fighting near kramatorsk. a pro-russian check point was attacked and a tv tower was recaptur recaptured. organising a hand over at this point was far from straightforward. >> reporter: it took days of delicate negotiations to reach this point, including the mayor vyacheslav panamaryov. the me from the o.s.c.e. are free, and as you can see, returning home. let's take you to ukraine's southern city of odessa where there's sorrow and anger after pro-russian separatists were killed in an attack on friday.

>> reporter: after appalling events where a peaceful march became a riot and ipp ferpo -- inferno, prayers were hold outside the tradeunions building where many suffocated or burnt to death. many jumped, some to their deaths, others perished inside, trading gun fire and molotov cocktails with a rival crowd outside. so-called pro-russians clashing with so-called pro-kiev or pro-unity demonstrators. despite government accusations of direct foreign involvement most are fellow citizens on opposite warring sides. >> translation: stop killing our people, please, stop killing our people. >> the police, many say, did nothing to stop or prevent the violence. >> reporter: what happened here on friday night was the single most deadly incident since the killing of protesters on kiev's

independence square in february. opposing sides in ukraine are forming and the divide between them is growing. >> on the square i met a lawyer from odessa who fears his country is falling apart. >> i'm terribly upset and angry at what happened yesterday. i can't explain. it was just - it was just murdering the crowd of people. people died because they feared the other opinion that others have. >> in a hospital where the injured lay i met an 18-year-old student who still believes in the future. >> translation: we are all people, we want to live well to create continues in ukraine so it's good for everyone. >> for many that hope is fading as deadly violence and hardening attitudes move from the east of ukraine to the south.

i spoke with nina khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at new york's new school. she said the crisis in ukraine is at a tipping point. >> we've been on the brink of an official civil war. people are fighting, dying. i am sure that russia is not in control of a lot of developments that happen on the ground. although they do ex-as perrate the events and probably support those who become the ring leaders. however, i am sure the situation has gone out of control. we are essentially in a war. >> nina khrushcheva said tensions will remain high until kiev assures russia it will not seek n.a.t.o. membership. the grief is palpable in northern afghanistan as the search for survivors of landslides is called off the the focus is on those left homeless in harsh conditions. more than 2,000 are feared dead, buried under hundreds of feet of mud.

heavy rains are blamed. we have more on the badakhshan disaster from gerald tan. >> reporter: they spent the night in the open, and during near-freezing textures, looking over -- temperatures, looking at what used to be their home, and praying for anyone sign of life. >> translation: seven members of my family were here when the lapped slide happened. four or five were killed. i'm half alive. what can i do? >> translation: we have not received assistance as of yet. all the villages are digging with shovels. it's a challenge for all the people. people who fived the land -- survived the landslide left. there's no excavator digging. we need more machinery. working with shovels is not enough. >> days of rain caused the site of this mountain to collapse. a wall of mud and rocks swept into the village, destroying all on its way, hundred of homes buried - many with people

inside. >> translation: until now we found one woman's body. we took it away. with regard to aid operations we have used all resources and sent them to the area. >> volunteers from nearby villagers came to this remote area of afghanistan with crude fools and shovels. the -- tools and shovels. the focus has shifted from trying to find survivors, to keeping those that did, alive. >> we are helping to facilitate the needs of around 700 families, more than 4,000 people have been displaced directly or indirectly by what happened in badakhshan. their needs range from food and water, of course, to medical help, as well as shelter needs. >> it's been hart for teams it -- hard for teams to reach the site. the narrow roads have been damaged by rain and can't take the heavy machinery used in such recovery efforts.

the hill site is unstable adding to fears that another part may cave in. >> the united states is offering to find around 300 young girls abducted in nigeria. it's been more than two weeks since they were kidnapped. frustrated parents are calling on the government to seek assistance from other countries. dozens held a rally in d.c. the government knows where the girls are kept, but is not taking action to gain their freedom. >> we don't know what it is, and the government is not doing everything. everybody else is talking, speaking up about this, except the government. why - 234 lives, why is that not important to them to do something about it. we are tired of the silence. >> the state department is helping nigerian officials with the investigation. secretary of state john kerry called the abduction an unconscionable crime. gregory campbell is a form john

campbell is a former ambassador. he said boko haram has been silent. so is it responsible. >> the government's response is badly coordinated lacking in transparency. it undermines confidence in the government's ability to provide security for its open people. there, in fact, have been demonstrations in lagos and abuja and connell, essentially designed to pressure the government, to step up efforts and do something. . >> what the relationship is in nigeria, local and federal government doesn't seem to be well coordinated. in terms of competency the government is not looking very

good right now. >> ambassador campbell says at this point he's upsure if the government will be able to rescue all the girls. >> ryker's university students are declaring victory as the week of protest events with former secretary of state condoleesa rice backing out of speaking. they demanded she be uninvited as commencement speaker. they argued she played a role in the iraq wars as part of the bush administration. secretary rice said:. >> campus officials responded sayingment. . >> president obama will get a

first-hand look at tornado damage in arkansas. the white house says the president will damage there on wednesday. powerful storms ripped through arkansas, killing 15, destroying hundreds of homes. doctors in indiana are treating the first case of mers. the person that contracted it travelled from saudi arabia to indiana. morgan radford reports. >> reporter: health care officials are scrambling to track down people who travelled the same route as a man who, according to the c d.c., tested positive to the deadly mers virus. he is a health care worker who returned from riyadh, saudi arabia. he landed in chicago, took a bus in indiana, fell sick and ended up in hospital. the virus hit the health care industry in the middle east hard. fatality is hard.

the risk of a widespread outbrake is low much. there's not been a clear case of person to person transmission outside of the health care system. so we need to keep this in perspective. >> health officials say the virus originated in the middle east in camels and spread to european countries. it's estimated to have ipp effected 600 people, resulting in 200 deaths. there's no treatment, cure or vak sipation. >> most of the cases are in the middle east. it has a case fatality rate, a percentage of folks who have the infection - about 30%. contrast that to a mortality rate of 1% for the flu, you get an idea how severe the respiratory infection may be. dr stephen morse is a professor of epidemiology at columbia university's mailman

school of public health and joined me earlier to discuss mers. >> it starts as a flu-like illness. it's a respiratory disease. it starts with flu-like fevers, children, dyer ear diarrhoea and difficulty breathing and gets more severe. it becomes more difficult to breathe and usually, of course, that's when people seek medical attention. >> it can be deadly. one in four have actually died of it. >> is there a vaccine, treatment options? >> there isn't a vaccine yet. there's a lot of talk during s.a.r.s. about making a vaccine. it ended before a vaccine was produced. and this may reignite interest in making a vaccine. now there isn't any, and it's rare enough that if people take the right precautions, avoiding contact with other individuals. if they are health care workers

or close family members, taking good high genic measures, washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, i think you'll be pretty save. >> prover stephen morse says middle east respiratory syndrome is only spread through close contact with an infected person. >> the n.b.a. has begun the process of taking offer the l.a. clippers team. the league announced it will appoint a new chief executive officer to supervise the team's day to day options. donald sterling was banned for life from the n.b.a. after a recording of racially charged comments surfaced. next on al jazeera, we take a closer look at world press freedom day, a day hitting close to home for al jazeera america. hear what a judge told our colleagues detained in egypt after the break. >> and churches taking advantage of new york's booming real

estate market. plans to spend the profit from pricey properties.

>> welcome back. today is world press freedom day scrks we are taking a deeper look at the challenges facing journalists around the world as they try to do their jobs. this map you are about to see is very telling. according to freedom house the countries highlighted in yellow have the highest level of press freedom, places where journalists felt the safest to do their work. countries in blue are classified as partly free. in the nations in red, they are not free, places where journalists may feel their lives are in danger. courtney kealy has more. >> reporter: at the u.n. security council friday ambassadors from great britain and russia called for attacks against journalists to stop. >> we are deeply disturbed by reports of abductions and intimidation of journalists reporting from eastern ukraine. >> translation: to swiftly halt punitive operations to free political prisoners, ensure full freedom for journalists. this would be a genuine process

of deescalation. >> david rhode kidnapped by the taliban in 2008 and held for seven months in pakistan knows full well the dangers. >> what is scary is the egyptian, and others blaming terrorists for telling the truth saying journalists are responsible for the country's problems when they are not. >> turkey, iran and china account for half of all journalists imprisoned. turkey stops the list, 40 yeftened since 2013. bail has been denied again for three al jazeera journalist held in an egape shan prison for four month, another has been in prison since august. world press freedom day was established over 20 years ago by the yaights -- united nations, part of the goal was to pay tribute to journalists that lost their lives. >> 70 journalists were killed in

2013. 74 were killed the year before, combined. those are the two-most deadly years in cpj's history. at the end of 2013, 2011 jucialists were in -- journalist were in gaol around the world, blow the record of 232, which was recorded at the end of 2012. >> a recent panel detailed dangers faced. >> this is true in iraq, which is the most deadly conflict we have documented. it's true in mexico where drug cartels unleashed an unprecedented onslaut of violence against the press. it's true in pakistan. two television presenters survived assassination attempts in the last two weeks, and true in syria, where the risk of death is compounded by the scourge of kidnapping. >> rhodes point out local

journalists are at risk. >> in my opinion out of 10 are local journalist who are pointing out corruption or challenging officials. in my opinion out of 10 cases are not prosecute when journalists are attacked or killed. >> many go unsolved. >> let's dig deeper. we are joined by karin karlekar, the project manager of the freedom of press project at freedom house and offered a report on press freedoms around the world. good to have you with us. in your own research you looked at the report and map. what were findings? >> our report provide a snapshot of the level of press freedom, and our latest was released on thursday. we found the levels reached their lowest point in a decade. as you pointed out 14% of the world's population lives in countries in an environment we classify as having free medium. >> there's a decline in press

freedom. what is driving the decline. >> governments are becoming more aware of the potential of these mediums, and are trying to control and clamp down on the message. they are trying to control content and attacking the messenger. >> what is the biggest threat to press freedom - the government, strexist group -- extremist groups. >> the government and laws against the media, throwing journalists in gaol and attacks on journal lifts. they are key methods for restricting the press. the rule of non-state and private actors. extremists and surge ents and media owners are helping to restrict the weres. >> how interrelated is freedom of press and country progress? >> they are quite related. in many countries there's a correlation between press and media openness and looking at

anticorruption, transparency, account ability and economic growth. there's a strong correlation. >> you saw video of colleagues detained in egypt. we'll talk about that in a moment. i want to look at disturbing moments. turkey - they rapping number one -- ranks number one, arresting 40 journalist. iran with 35. china is a close third. would you say the detention of journalist lead to an increase. >> definitely. what we see is the numbers show that the level of journalist arrested and being in gaol rose to record proportions. this is one of the key methods of restricting press and lads to self censorship. >> what about citizen journalism. >> it's providing an opening. instead of having professional journalist, you have people just taking pictures on their cell phones and sending them, leading to big open epings and leading to a crackdown on people, a lot

of people are in gaol for writing a tweet or expressing something on facebook. we see that in new media. citizen journalists are subject to the same restrictions. how much of an influence has western journalism had:. >> it's a key influence. international media, and foreign news outlets and journalist play a key role in owing the environment and bringing the stories out. what we saw last year is a crack council don foreign journalist. countries like china and russia and egypt. >> how much has social media changed the influence? >> i think it changed it tremendously. social media is getting the stories out more quickly to a global audience. the arrest of the nine bloggers in ethiopia, was broadcast around the world by twitter in a matter of minutes. it's important, but what we see is there are crackdown on the space as well. >> do you see a downside when it

comes to social media and influence around the world. >> it's an immediate form. there's not always the level of fact checking or accuracy that goes on that you have in a professional media outlet. it helps to spread the word. in terms of accuracy of the information, i think there's a role for professional journalists. >> i want to talk about our colleagues detained in egypt. stand by. several of our al jazeera journalists have been detained. they got letters out to us describing the situation, here is one from our producer mohamed fadel fahmy. >> to silence me and my colleagues on the pretext that we are a threat to national security is an insult to the intelligence of egyptian people

and the democracy promoted in the newly ratified constitution. during the previous court hearing i stood provoked in the caning as i watched the all-too familiar press pack being expelleded from the court. one diligent reporter yelled a question to me on his way out. are the hunger strikes real? yes. the dozens of prisoners enduring weeks of genuine life-threatening hunger strikes are nobel men with no other way to contest the ill-treatment they face in prison. among those freedom fighters is abdullah al-shami. the al jazeera arabic correspondent who has been on hunger strike for weeks and lost more than 30 kilograms. his detention for almost nine months without even standing treatment is:. >> i see no better occasions than today to remind the world about the plight of these men, and that there are dozens of respected local egyptian

reporters and citizen journalists suffering in prison awaiting trial. >> journalism is not a kim. >> they are prisoners of conscience. . >> journalists held for 126 days. here is stefanie dekker with more on the detention of our colleagues. >> reporter: their seventh appearance in court ended like all the others - bail denied. mohamed fadel fahmy was briefly allowed out of the caming to address the judge -- cage to address the judge, and tried to explain that journalist need to explore all sides of a story. >> translation: for me communication with the muslim brotherhood, the wasat party or the naerty or anyone else, this is something -- naerty or anyone else, this is something routine. i work hard to get an interview and reach sources. that is what journalists do. >> saturday is world press

freedom day. the three colleagues shouted happy press freedom day as they were led to the gaol cell. >> it's ironic that we are here in court. peter's trial on world press freedom day. we have seen another adjournment. it's increasingly difficult for us, the family and all the guys inside to, you know, endure this process. >> a fourth al jazeera journalist abdullah al-shami will remain in detention for 45 days. he's been held without charge since august and has been on hunger strike for over 100 days. he lost 35 kilos and says he has not received medical attention. >> this is an unprecedented case. we have never seep this globally. any government, go after international news network for nothing more than doing the work. and also using terrorists, terror-related charges to keep them in custody without

evidence. >> journalists are finding it difficult to work in egypt. >> personally as a reporter it's been harder to go down and cover street protests, to cover acts of dissent. it's a greater risk. you are at a greater risk of being swept up in a mass arrest and being lost in the prison system. >> there are many journalists, activists and protesters held without charge in egyptian gaols. >> the prosecution rested its case on saturday, and the defense will have a chance to have its say when the trial resumes on 15 may. the network continues to deny all the charms against it -- charges against its staff and demand their unconditional dleef. >> rarl joining us -- karin karlekar joining us again and she authored a report. 126 days detained. what do you make of this? >> this is one of the most egregious cases. the journalists are trying to

cover both sides and have been arrested and thrown into gaol for trying to do their jobs. they are accused of terrorism. >> a producer had to explain to the jum about journalism. are you surprised by this? >> i was very surprised. i saw the clip, it was astounding that he had to explain the basic tenants of journalism to a jum, and the fact that theth iter -- 7th iteration happening on world press freedom day is ironic and a sign of backsliding in egypt and repress against journalists. >> what is the take away? will it shed new light on press freedoms. >> it's amazing the outpouring of international solidarity for the journalists and about the case. it's been encouraging. it has helped shine a light on the continues around the world. as i said, this is a particularly egregious case, but is not the only one. the campaign has been amazing. that has been amazing. >> in your research and reporting, are you encouraged

and hopeful. >> definitely. we saw positive trends, particularly in sub-saharan africa. there are a few bright spots. and the advent of social media and the internet a bright spot. >> important issue on an important day. karin karlekar, project manager, freedom of press at freedom house, thank you for seeing us. >> still ahead - the unemployment numbers released this week may sound like good news. are they really? >> i'm kaelyn forde at the gowanus canal in new york, one of the most expensive environmental clean ups in history is getting under way.

. >> the environmental protection agency listed more than 1300 super funds, the most polluted places in america. one of the worst in broork line new york is -- brock line new york is -- brooklyn new york is slated for clean-up. that hasn't deterred real estate developers. >> katia kelly called this part

of brooklyn home for 28 years, renovating an old brown stone and raising two children. the neighbourhood she loves and writes about has a toxic legacy. 2km away is some of the most toxic water, the gowanus canal. >> i worry without understanding where i chose to live my life, i may have put myself and my children at risk. >> since the 1870s factories have dumped chemicals into the waterway. jospeh alexiou studied the canal's history. >> there's a 122 news article from the "new york times" saying $129 million of goods were shipped through the gowanus canal, it's the shortst, the dirtiest and important waterways in the country. >> the gowanus flows into the new york harbour and is popular for fishing. when heavily rains overwems the plants, raw sewerage flows into

the canal. >> here comes the garbage. >> katia kelly knew the water was dirty, but not toxic. neighbours thought it could be healing. >> some people hear thought that the strong air in the gowanus canal was good for healing crop. >> that changed in 2010 when the environmental protection agency put it on a super fund list. scientists found pesticides, metals and cancer causing chemicals, pcbs. it's a witch's brew, so to speak, of contamination. from the turp of the century until now. to give you a perspective of when we measure contamination, it's measured at parts per million or billion, depending on the contaminant. in this case we are finding it at parts her hundred. the clean-up will cost half a billion, taking more than a

decade. more than 20 feet of toxic coal tar will have to be dredged from the bottom of the canal. >> centuries of contamination gave colour and smell. real estate developers are making plans for lory kond -- luxury condos here. a $300 million development is slated to open in 2017 with 744 units of housing. long-term residents like katia kelly want it cleaned up before it's built up. >> 12 story condo glass buildings where people pay a lot of money in flood zones and next to open sewers. we think it's funny if it does do that. >> in a city where housing is in demand, stemming the tide is impossible. unemployment in the united states dropped to the lowest level in more than five years.

government statistics released indicated that 6.3% in nearly 300,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. but that may not be all good news. >> reporter: not all working-aged americans are considered part of the workforce. you must have a job or be actively looking for one. that's how the u.s. bureau of labour statistics calculates the rate. where it stands casts a shadow over an unemployment rate of 6.3%. >> economistsant to see unemployment drop because jobs are created. in april more than 800,000 americans left the workforce, bringing the labour force participation rate to 62.8%. that's the same level as december, when it hit a 35-year low. >> labour force participation has tanked in the wake of the great recession - falling more than 2 percentage points between

october 2009 and december last year. >> economists of philadelphia attribute 30% of the drop until 2012 to discourage job seekers giving up the hunt. >> from 2012 onwards 80% was down to baby boomers retiring. april's decline was driven by a fall. >> it is suggested that congress cutting off emergency compensation has driven hundreds of thousands of people out of the market and they may be lost to us for goods. >> if the any adds jobs, it could entice long-term unemployed to find work again. >> we had tepid job growth so far this year, and at the end of last year. the jobs report shows that 300,000 jobs have been created may lure people to the labour market.

>> secretary of state john kerry is four days into a trip in africa, and has been promoting human rights and democratic development. he spoke about the united states commitment to the continent but stressed africa's fate lies in its own hands. >> when people say that couped of development that happened in europe and asia can't happen here - we just plain disagree. it's already happening. africans are shaping their future for themselves. you are shaping it for yourselves. and we want to share in your effort and help to provide and drive for a shared prosperity. >> after speaking in ethiopia secretary of state john kerry moved on to congo. he'll meet with president kabila to discuss security gains. tomorrow on the week ahead segment we'll look at the fighting in south sudan that displaced around a million people:.

families trapped in the middle of a syrian war zone got a chance to get out. that's because a 48 hour ceasefire between government forces and the opposition. some of the victims have been trapped in syria's most violent region for months. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: the old quarters of homs and surrounding neighbourhoods are the last rebel strongholds in the city. some 1,000 fighter are inside. for months they have been under siege. now they may begin safe passage out as part of a deal with the government. the rebels will retreat to the northern country side of the city. those areas are under siege. the deal allows the state to regain control of the city. >> now it is impossible to take back the city. we were so hungry. we couldn't walk 100 metres. i used to weigh 73 kilos, now i weigh 53 kilos.

>> this 24-year-old arrived in istanbul a few days ago and said the bombardment and government siege forced neighbourhoods to surrender one after another. >> in early 2012. regime began a campaign to retake lost territory in the city. the neighbourhood came under a government intense assaults during this war. activists like khaled abo salah called for help when international observers visited the area. the world didn't act. he was a sign of defines. when the rebels lost it, he left. >> translation: at first i thought we would return. then the situation was worse. we didn't lose ohms, we lost it over a year ago when the regime seized the city. >> it's strategically located. the corridor linking damascus along the coast passes through homs.

>> the regime and the opposition know they cannot control the whole country. the regime is concentrating on retaking strategic territory. it is part of a plan. >> once the rebels withdrew from neighbourhood, they would no longer be divided by front lines. the rebels may lose the heart of the revolution. the war is not over. a commission on child abuse is being held. protocols are being drafted when a priest is accused. victims' groups pressed the churn to hold priests accountable. a key member is marie collins, a victim of abuse by a priest in ireland. >> i know there's many survivors around the world who are hoping and have great expectations of this mission and what i can say

so far is you can't make concrete promises. as a survivor myself, i am hopeful that we are going to achieve what is hoped for. >> once again pope francis established the commission in december. sky high property prices in new york city are creating new business opportunities for churches. many places of worship in immigrant communities find themselves in desirable neighbourhoods. churches are cashing in with plans for the profits. mary snow reports. >> father christopher ball ard is a man of prayer with an eye on property. >> yes, this was renovated. >> he's an associate rector at the landmark church of st. luke and st. matthew in brooklyn. a big part of his job is to develop real estate deals for the 158 churches in his ensis copal diocese. >> i learnt a lot about real estate. >> is the market a blessing. >> it is.

>> it's a blessing because it is soaring in neighbour ads like the one with st. luke and st. matthew is located. there are about a dozen deals considered in his diocese. one is at his church which put the parking lot and rectory on the market for $8.6 million. >> the church will stay intact. father ball ard says the money made will go towards maintaining decaying churches and expanding charity work like after hurricane sandy. >> we need to focus on helping other people, once we leverage buildings, found partners, joint ventures, it allows us to do more. >> clergy members looking to cash in are familiar to commercial real estate brokers like dan marr, seeking a developer for this 120-year-old baptiste church the the property valued at $20 million.

>> over the last couple of years churches want to know what their options are. some are doing the route of telling some are looking for partnerships, we are speaking to a lot of churches. >> along with churches, charities who work along with them are deciding it's time to sell property. the church mission house on manhattan's park avenue. it's home to a federation of agencies working with a host of nonprofit groups. >> sometimes you have to trike while the iron is hot. what we are seeing in the community is the iron is really hot right now. >> executive director jennifer jones austin says the organization bought the building for $900,00050 years ago. it may fetch $50 million. the profit will help it fight poverty. >> i'm a believer that it's not about where we sit, but the work that we do. >> from the pews where father

ball ard sits, if churches are not making real estate a part of the submission, they are missing the -- mission, they are missing the vote. >> this is an opportunity that won't come this way ahead. >> still to come - rickshaws are a century's old tradition in india, now they are getting a modern upgrade.

welcome back to al jazeera america. let's get a check on the forecast. kevin corriveau joining us. a different weather pattern. >> it is, we've been dealing with a storm for six days and there's remnants in southern florida. let's go closer. you can see where the heavier

showers passing through tampa into orlando. if you travel to the caribbean, bahamases, parts of cuba, we'll see the heavy rain showers and warnings are in effect across much of the panhandle. that's because the water in place is slowly receding. it's all the way up to mississippi, and we are dealing with warnings. here across the central part of the united states - this is where we saw a lot of activity. people saw better weather where we got out and cleaned through the rubble. we don't expect to see too much in terms of rain. we expect warm temperatures building up here, starting tomorrow. we can see from wichita. we are talking about the mid 90, in this area, between 15 and 20 degrees above average. and it continues to go up. you can see almost getting to 99 degrees, and that doesn't change as we go towards tuesday.

a dangerous situation because it is lasting and you don't want to stay in the sun, you want to be hydrated if you are in this area. >> thank you. al jazeera america's groundbreaking series "borderland" brings us up close to the challenges migrants face crossing the u.s. mexican boarder. in the series finale we see it's more dangerous for women. >> reporter: among migrants camouflage closing is sought after, as are other items to prevent detection. >> these are shoe covers. if you walk through the desert, you'll see a distinct shoe print. so you'll see that. you put these on, and then you are not going to see that. if the desert track is angst ridden for men, it is more more females.

father presliano takes the women in the group to a nearby pharmacy. . >> the fact that a woman is having a shot because they know they'll get raped. we have to understand the sacrifices women are making to have a better life. . >> it's sick to know that as a woman not only do you have to

worry about getting sick, breaking on ang. you have to -- ankle. you have to worry about being raped. >> you can watch the series finale tomorrow night. india has bun of the worst levels of air pollution in the world, people are trying to come up with environmentally friendly ways to get around. as al jazeera's fez jamil reports, government officials are debating if they're more of a help or hindrance. >> they are a common site in new delhi, fully electric the rickshaws offer an environmentally friendly alternative. people take them after the metro ride, and they compete against cycle rickshaws and those powered by natural gas. mohammed raf eke made the switch last year. >> passengers prefer these because they travel faster. you can only take two people, it takes longer. they get late sometimes. >> not everyone is happy though.

the delhi high court ruled that the government needs to regulate e-rickshaws. >> they are not... >> under current laws police say they can't go after the erickshaw drivers. >> they are not prosecuted. it's a legal tangle which has not been recognised. >> there is more. a government commission recently reported that men of the erick shaws are more powerful than they are supposed to be and are too fast. he is waiting for the deposit to instruct the police on what to do next. >> reporter: part of the popularity is anyone can drive one without a licence. seemingly a happy medium and more polluting and expensive rickshaws, these are not as environmentally friendly as they appear.

this man that sells wh epairs e -- and repairs e-rickshaws says the batteries have to be eplaced every six months. businesses are down because of the threat of regulation. he's worried e-rickshaws will come under the motor vehicle law and businesses could die out. >> if they don't things will be fine, the business will grow. if they come under the law and there are extra expenses on top of batteries and repairs, there's no life ahead for it. >> there are about 100,000 e-rickshaws on the road. all the drivers can do now is wait for the government's decision on regulation to come down. only then will they know what the road ahead will look like. >> what makes a good pair of shoes - see how scientists are trying to find out next.

welcome back. researchers in barcelona are trying to study shoes. they are not focussing on style.

they are using science to determine what makes a shoe comfortable. tarek bazley reports. >> reporter: buying a new pair of shoes has been something of a gamble. with the latest designs - will they be as comfortable as fashionable or older, more traditional styles will they be more likely to make feet sing? now a team of reachers in barcelona is hoping to remove the guesswork, using the latest in technology to match what people say are comfortable shoes with certain physical attributes in the footwear. >> sensors inside the show monitor the force from the body carried from the feet to the show into the floor. they are using 14 ipp agree red cameras to -- infrared cameras to track the moving. taking the data they work out using a number of computer models what features of a particular somehow make it

comfortable. >> what we found is women prefer shoes with space in the toes and like shoes with flexible sols. >> in many the weight of the show. light shoes affect the way they walk. >> not all shoes, especially cheaper ones get the same attention. nunez sapper has spent his life helping people with foot problems. frequently the result of poor fitting or badly designed shoes. >> translation: a good pair of shoes is fundamental. in a bad pair of shoes, it is not assessed properly. is sunday function as it should. >> spain's economic downturn had

an effect as patients have been forced to by cheaper shoes. >> it could make the dips. thanks for joining us. i'm thomas drayton, we'll be back with another news in an hour. "consider this" starts now. . >> the c d.c. blocked by congress from studying gun violence. we are joined by a congress woman and n.r.a. woman who was a top doctor at the c d.c. is climate change leading to intergsal conflict. do animal lovers put pets before people. we'll be joined by a dare devil not long before he leapt off the world's tallest building. >> i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this," here is more on what is